Clothespin



May 24, 1949.

E. P. ASHCROFT 2,471,186

- CLOTHESPIN Filed Jan. 29, 1946 INVENTOR. Ethel RAshcr'oft av waya ra,

' ATTORNEYS Patented May 24, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to fastening devices and more particularly to clothes line fastening devices.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a clothes line fastening device that is made of plastic, is simple in construction, efficient in operation, durable and reliable in use and economical in manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above described character equipped with strengthening means for firmly aiding the device to reliably secure the clothes to a clothes line.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view the invention consists of the novel details of construction, arrangement and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention as applied to a clothesline.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a topplan view thereof.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the reference numeral l designates the body of the device which is arcuate or curved in cross section, which is made of plastic or similar materials and is adapted to secure clothes on a line l2 as shown in Figure 1.

The body has a head portion l4 and depending leg portions l6 and I8 respectively, which are smaller in cross-section than the head portion I l.

The leg I8 is bent outwardly at 20 below the head portion and then rolled inwardly at 22 to form the clamping leg of the device.

A piece of metal 24 imbedded in the leg from the top of the head to the end of the leg strengthens the leg and more firmly aids in clamping the clothes on the line.

The leg 18 extends for a considerable distance below the rolled formation 22 of the leg IB and is provided with a marginal head 26 at the lower end thereof to prevent snagging the clothes on the line.

The leg I8 is curved, as is the head, but the leg l6 at the rolled portion is curved only on the inner side thereof, the outer side remaining straight as shown in Figure 3.

It is believed that the construction and operation of the device will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and combination of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A clothespin formed of a single piece of plastic material comprising a head portion, a first leg portion of predetermined length extending therefrom, a second leg portion of a predetermined length less than that of said first leg portion extending from said head portion at an angle to said first leg portion, a looped portion terminating said second leg portion and abutting against said first leg portion whereby said leg portions have regions spaced from each other thereby forming a space adapted to receive a clothesline for supporting the clothespin, said looped portion and the region of said first legportion abutting thereagainst being adapted to grip items of clothing, and a continuous metallic insert embedded in said head portion, second leg portion and looped portion for mounting the latter portion in yieldable abutting relationship with said first leg portion.

.ETHEL P. ASHCROFT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 77,268 Finley Apr. 28, 1868 135,501 Wellington Feb. 4, 1873 143,024 Mellish Sept. 23, 1873 1,225,630 Hicks May 8, 1917 1,630,017 Larson May 24, 1927 1,725,986 Keyser Aug. 27, 1929 1,876,464 Miller Sept. 6, 1932 2,012,422 Fanger Aug. 27, 1935 2,205,524 Gareis June 25, 1940 2,255,467 Kabriel Sept. 9, 1941 2,276,377 Duiiek Mar. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 110,520 Australia May 2, 1940 

